[08/31/10 - 01:25 PM]USA Keeps Its Place in the Sun During the Last Week of AugustUSA spins the numbers for the week of August 23-29.

[via press release from USA]

USA KEEPS ITS PLACE IN THE SUN DURING THE LAST WEEK OF AUGUST

Four Out of Five USA Originals hit Season or Series Highs

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - August 31, 2010 - USA continued to outshine the competition this week, enjoying the #1 position in cable prime among P25-54 (1.37 million, +18% over #2 ESPN), P18-49 (1.29 million, +16% over #2 ESPN), P18-34 (597,000, +13% over #2 MTV), total viewers (3.25 million, +19% over #2 DSNY) and households (2.41 million, +16% over #2 DSNY) as well as earning the week's highest household coverage rating in basic cable prime (2.42, +0.32 over #2 DSNY).

USA was the only cable network to average over 3 million total viewers in primetime this week and the only entertainment network to average over 1 million P18-49. USA also won the total day crown this week among P18-49, delivering more of these viewers than any other cable network (563,000, +2% over #2 TNT).

Driven by originals WHITE COLLAR, COVERT AFFAIRS, PSYCH, BURN NOTICE and ROYAL PAINS, WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW, hit movies, and the top acquired series on cable, NCIS, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT and HOUSE, USA delivered over three times as many P25-54 (+212%) and total viewers P2+ (+255%) as The CW and more than twice the broadcaster's audiences among P18-49 (+180%) and P18-34 (+143%).

· Half of the top ten P25-54 and P18-49 entertainment telecasts in basic cable prime were on USA this week, including the top three P25-54 telecasts in this category: BURN NOTICE, ROYAL PAINS and COVERT AFFAIRS. These hit series were the top dramas in all of television, broadcast or cable, in delivering P18-49 and outfoxed every entertainment telecast on FOX this week in drawing P18-49, P25-54, total viewers and households.

· The season finales of BURN NOTICE and ROYAL PAINS lit up the week as the top two entertainment telecasts in basic cable prime among P25-54 (BN 2.78 million / RP 2.68 million). BURN NOTICE was also the top scripted telecast in basic cable prime this week among P18-49 (2.70 million) and P18-34 (1.27 million) with ROYAL PAINS coming in at #3 P18-49 (2.39 million, behind COVERT AFFAIRS) and #4 P18-34 (1.06 million).

· BURN NOTICE delivered its second best P18-34 audience ever this week (1.27 million), its best P18-49 audience since last summer's finale (8/6/09), and its best P25-54 and total viewer (6.29 million) audiences since the season premiere (6/3/10). In addition, it was the week's top drama in P18-34, M25-54, and M18-34, outperforming every entertainment telecast on FOX in these three demos, as well. In the show's Thursday 9P timeslot, USA was the #1 entertainment network on television, broadcast or cable, in delivering both persons and males 18-34, 18-49, 25-54 and 2+. BURN NOTICE made USA #1 in the hour among F18-49 and placed second only to Lifetime among F18-34 while outperforming both FOX and NBC in F25-54 and total females F2+.

· ROYAL PAINS finished the summer with season-highs in P18-49, P25-54, and total viewers (6.08 million) while the P18-34 audience (1.03 million) was second only to the season premiere. This week's F18-34 (617,000) and F18-49 (1.36 million) audiences were the second best ever for the series. In the show's Thursday's 10pm hour, USA was the #1 entertainment network among P25-54, M25-54 and total males M2+, coming in second only to CBS overall in delivering total viewers and households and to MTV for women 18-34/18-49/25-54.

· COVERT AFFAIRS and WHITE COLLAR stole the night Tuesday, taking the top two spots in cable among P25-54 (CA 2.66 million / WC 1.94 million), P18-49 (2.46 million / 1.75 million), total viewers (5.87 million / 4.60 million) and households (4.17 million / 3.37 million). These were the top two dramas on cable Tuesday night, as well, in delivering P18-34 (1.06 million / 827,000). WHITE COLLAR hosted more P25-54 (1.94 million) and total viewers (4.60 million) than it has since the winter's Season 1.5 premiere (1/19/10) while COVERT AFFAIRS hit series highs in P25-54 (2.66 million), P18-49 (2.46 million) and total viewers (5.87 million).

· WHITE COLLAR delivered three times as many P18-34 (+112%) as TNT's "Hawthorne" head-to-head in the 9pm hour Tuesday while enjoying double-digit leads among P25-54 (+23%), P18-49 (+28%), total viewers (+32%) and households (+25%). In Tuesday's 10P hour, COVERT AFFAIRS delivered almost four times as many P18-34 (+274%) as the #2 scripted cable original in the hour, "Memphis Beat," as well as doubling the TNT original's P18-49 (+117%) and enjoying wide margins of victory among P25-54 (+75%), total viewers (+52%) and households (+40%).

· COVERT AFFAIRS was the #1 scripted telecast in all of television Tuesday, broadcast or cable, in delivering P18-49, outperforming everything on FOX for the night, as well, while COVERT AFFAIRS and WHITE COLLAR delivered more P18-34 than anything on CBS and more total viewers and households than anything on FOX Tuesday night. In WHITE COLLAR's 9pm timeslot, USA outperformed CBS in delivering P18-49 and P18-34 while besting ABC and FOX in total viewers and households in the hour. COVERT AFFAIRS was second only to NBC across the board in the 10pm hour Tuesday, placing behind the Peacock in P25-54, P18-49, P18-34 and total viewers.

· PSYCH was Wednesday night's top scripted telecast on cable among P25-54 (1.66 million), P18-49 (1.61 million) and P18-34 (855,000) and beat every competitor in basic cable prime in total viewers (3.63 million) and households (2.64 million). No other scripted cable telecast Wednesday night delivered over 1.5 million P25-54 or 1.5 million P18-49 and no competitor aired a telecast to over 3 million total viewers or 2.5 million households.

· PSYCH was Wednesday night's most watched scripted telecast in all of television, broadcast or cable, in delivering P18-34, beating everything on ABC in this demo as well as in M18-34, M18-49, and total male viewers M2+. In the show's 10pm hour, USA outperformed every broadcaster in delivering P18-34, ABC and CBS in P18-49, and ABC in P25-54 and total viewers.

· NCIS and LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT were the most popular acquired series on cable this week, taking the #1 and #2 spots, respectively, among P25-54 (NCIS #1 1.28MM / SVU #2 897,000), total viewers (3.83MM / 2.27MM), and households (2.94MM / 1.88MM). No other acquired series averaged over 1 million P25-54, 2 million total viewers or 2 million households in primetime this week.

USA Network is the #1 network in all of basic cable and is seen in over 98.5 million U.S. homes. A division of NBC Universal, USA is the cable television leader in original series and home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, acquired television series and entertainment events. The award-winning USA website is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.

USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.